In her participation in the 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in Doha, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, led a panel discussion on accelerating south-south cooperation and triangular cooperation to support recovery from current challenges, building resilience and accelerating the pace of implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, with the participation of Hon. Dr. Teuea Toatu, Vice President and Minister for Finance of Kiribati, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of International Trade Centre, H.E. Mr. Aurélien Agbenonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Bénin, and H.E. Mr. Francisco André, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal.
The Minister of International Cooperation, in her opening speech, said that the countries of the Global South contribute to more than half of the global growth in recent years, which reflects the importance of cooperation between the countries of the South and its role in driving global development efforts.
H.E. pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Europe and climate change, have exacerbated the challenges faced by the LDCs globally and have contributed to reducing investments in health and social protection systems and made them more vulnerable to shocks. However, this has also shown the importance of knowledge exchange, the development of effective policies and capacity building in order to find sustainable solutions. It has also shown the importance of multilateral cooperation as no country can achieve sustainable development on its own.
Al-Mashat added that south-south and triangular cooperation is a pivotal factor in facing common challenges, playing a major role in building resilience, and accelerating the achievement of the SDGs, through joint action between developing and developed countries. H.E. referred to the Buenos Aires Action Plan For the year 2019, which affirmed that south-south and triangular cooperation can enable developing countries to achieve sustainable development and establish a just and equitable global economic system. The Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs for 2022-2031 stipulates the need to strengthen South-South and triangular cooperation as well support the ability for these countries to achieve their commitment towards the SDGs through joint work with other countries, development partners, the private sector and civil society; enabling them to replicate and benefit from development experiences in other countries.
H.E. stressed that in order to achieve this, the steps implemented must include all relevant parties to enable technical expertise and pave the way towards accelerating the pace of sustainable development and mobilizing financial and technical resources for this. The minister referred to the Government of Egypt’s launch of the “Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing” at COP27 which provides recommendations to enable developing countries to bridge the financing gap through equitable access to climate finance.
Al-Mashat touched upon the innovative financing models and experiences presented by the guidebook which are already implemented in many countries and can be replicated according to each country's priorities. Moreover, the Minister noted the mechanisms available to promote blended finance to ensure effective outcomes for development cooperation, noting that the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing is a reflection of south-south and triangular cooperation as it was prepared with the participation of more than 100 representatives of governments, development partners, private sector institutions and non-profit organizations.
H.E. concluded her speech by emphasizing the importance of working together to move forward towards the SDGs, and that the LDCs through south-south and triangular cooperation.
Rania Al-Mashat
Rania Al-Mashat
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